 | MIA Heat | 121 | Final Box Score | 110 | TOR Raptors |  |
 B | O. Anunoby21 MIN, 6 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 3-5 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/- Anunoby was fine tonight, but his primary assignment Jimmy Butler had it his way for most of the night. Although Butler didn’t score all that much until overtime, he was constantly using picks to get by Anunoby and making the right read. | |
 C+ | P. Siakam39 MIN, 15 PTS, 12 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 5-14 FG, 0-2 3FG, 5-6 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -15 +/- A -15 on the night, it was an unusual game for Siakam. He sometimes has trouble when athletic big men defend him, and that was the case tonight as Bam Adebayo did a good job locking him down (with help). | |
 A- | M. Gasol33 MIN, 14 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 5-9 FG, 2-6 3FG, 2-3 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -6 +/- Gasol shot the ball really well but struggled a bit on the boards and allowed Adebayo to find space in the paint, especially early in the game where Adebayo had a few open looks from the free-throw line. | |
 B | K. Lowry41 MIN, 12 PTS, 6 REB, 11 AST, 1 STL, 2-18 FG, 0-11 3FG, 8-8 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, -14 +/- I love Lowry as much as the next guy, and we can talk about the little things he does all we want, but 2-18 from the field and 0-11 from three ain’t gonna cut it Neither is an uncharacteristic -14 on the night. | |
 B | F. VanVleet43 MIN, 19 PTS, 1 REB, 6 AST, 3 STL, 5-16 FG, 3-9 3FG, 6-7 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -15 +/- VanVleet was fine tonight, and he was one of the Raptors’ more reliable options from behind the arc, but we have come to expect greatness of VanVleet, and he wasn’t his best self against the Heat. | |
 A+ | N. Powell34 MIN, 23 PTS, 8 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 8-14 FG, 4-8 3FG, 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -7 +/- Powell returned to the bench against the Heat after starting 12 straight games with Lowry out of the lineup, and he picked up right where he left off. | |
 A | S. Ibaka22 MIN, 13 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 4-8 FG, 2-3 3FG, 3-4 FT, 1 BLK, 2 TO, -4 +/- In his second game back from returning from injury, Ibaka looks like he has shaken off all the rust. | |
 C | R. Hollis-Jefferson17 MIN, 6 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 3-4 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-2 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -3 +/- Rondae wasn’t able to out-hustle the Heat tonight, which is a credit to the Heat for playing a really hard game. | |
 C | T. Davis15 MIN, 2 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 12 +/- Davis missed a couple of good looks from behind the arc, but he had one absolute dime to Hollis-Jefferson and flashes his potential constantly. | |
 B- | Nick Nurse Nurse stuck to a pretty traditional rotation besides closing the game with Powell instead of Anunoby, which was a good call considering how clunky the Raptors offense was all night and how well Powell was playing. | |
Things We Saw
- Jimmy Butler was the best player on the floor for most of the game. He was having his way with the Raptors defense all night, maneuvering around screens and finding the open man before he took over in overtime with eight-straight points.
He is putting up modest numbers this season, so the media isn’t speaking his name very much, but Butler is making winning plays and adjusting to being the No. 1 option/having his own team very smoothly. - I’m expecting a bounce-back night for Siakam against the Rockets on Thursday, because that was an uncharacteristically poor night for him. He just didn’t seem to have the same energy he usually brings to the table, and he has talked about how he plays best when he is engaged on both sides of the floor.
- That was just a weird game.
The Raptors were unimpressive on both ends and part of that can be chalked up to the fact that Lowry and Ibaka are still being reintroduced to the rotation, but they can and should absolutely be better.
Give credit to the Heat, though, who executed their game plan and had the best player on the floor.
